I know he's not that great of a player, but he plays defense, and is a decent overall player, which would make him a pretty good backup SG. I also like the fact that he is a vet, who might be able to help out the young players. Gill is an unrestricted FA, and I'd like to see the Rockets either offer him the veteran exception for 1 mill a year, or sign him to a portion of our middle class exception. I feel like if we added Gill, our 2 deep at every position would make us a very deep team. Any thoughts?
I would sign him in a second but I doubt if he would want to come here and get 6 or 7 minutes a game.
Gill could log 10-15 mins a game IMO. I'm not really a huge Cat fan, and think he'd be best suited playing 30-33 mins a game. Cat plays really really hard, and I think he'd be better off playing less minutes, so that fatigue/injuries aren't a concern. Cat's a small SG, and who knows when the mileage add up on him. Obviously, Gill would probably be looking to sign with a contender, something the Rockets aren't at this point.
I've always liked Gill. Didn't he lead the league in steals one year? I would love to have him or Jim Jackson. Both are stand up guys who would bring some much needed veteran leadership.
Rockets03-Agreed about Jimmy Jackson too. I feel that both guys are vets who can still be an asset as backup SGs. What makes me interested in them, is the fact that they have good size at SG. We sorely lack size in the backcourt.
Gill is a very good defensive player. I was at the game in NJ where he tied the all-time steals in a game record. I think he'd be a great addition to our team but I doubt he'd want to come here. P.S. Can you believe this guy ever averaged 21 ppg for te Sonics? That seems like so long ago now...
Are either of those guys available via free agency or would we have to trade/sign&trade. I would be pleased if we picked up either of those two guys, but I wouldn't trade for them. The unfortunate part about our situation is that anyone that comes here will have to play a relatively smaller part on this team minute-wise. Mobley is very active, has good endurance and commands a lot of minutes to be effective(wearing his opponents down). In my opinion, we need a veteran guy willing to take on a lessor role than they are used to. Actually, we don't even really need a veteran, only a guy that can step in at any time and fill in. The guy would be injury insurance because Norris steps in and Francis plays 2. I think anyone who comes here would be somewhat rare if they fill the role properly. I think this will be a major offseason need that we will have to do a lot of research on and use persuasive power. If not, we'll have to play 'big' and move Nachbar/Rice/Morris over. Scary thought defensively.
Why didn't Jim Jackson every become the player he could have? I remember in Dallas he was doing pretty well and he had a 50 point game once. It all went downhill from there. I think he'd be a nice pickup but he's probably not ready to be a backup.
The rap on Jim Jackson is that he's uncoachable. The rap on Gill is that he's a sourpuss and a locker lawyer. Gill had some depression or something in Seattle and right after he left. Personally, I think Gill's fine, but I'd be wary of Jim Jackson. I'd be surprised to see him sign here for 5-8 min and help defense. I'd be surprised to see the Rocks pay a lot for that, too.
Why do you guys think that they would only play 8 mins a game? Fact is that Cat shouldn't be playing 40 mins per game. The only reason he does is because we haven't had a backup SG worth a damn since Elie. If we had a solid backup SG, Mobley would be a 30 min per game guy.
I don't know about him being uncoachable, but he averaged about 25 ppg one season, and seriously dominated several games I saw. Ever since that awful ankle injury, he was never the same player.
If we can land Gill, we would be deep at every position. Like some posters said earlier, Jim Jackson would be good too. Both these guys are solid vets that could help us out.
I didn't know Jackson had an ankle injury but that seems like a good excuse for being a bust but I never heard of him being a headcase other than the fact that he and Jason Kidd didn't get along off the court.
Gill has a history of being selfish. He has been known to be a cancer in the locker room. We already have better players under contract and some of you guys still want to sign him....
Agreed. All the Rocks need is a POed Gill on the end of the bench getting 5 min/game. that is when he is not in Rudy's doghouse. The Rocks have invested a lot in the three guard rotation of Mooch, Steve, and Cat. Those three when they are healthy will eat up all of the guard minutes. The fourth guard, whoever it is, will have to be able to deal with long stretches where he will not see any PT.
